Lloyd stirs up QB controversy right away

In a teleconference Friday afternoon after he signed a one-year contract with the Bears, Lloyd was asked how the quarterback situation was explained to him.

``Rex Grossman is the starter. Coach Ron Turner and coach Lovie [Smith] think very highly of him, and Kyle Orton, they think very highly of him also. I think that as a receiver, it’s really our jobs to make those guys look good and it’s their job to make us look good too. It’s just going to be a hand-in-hand relationship maybe I could say for all of us to get better because I think that’s really what it comes down to. We are really at a pivotal point in our careers where we really need to lean on each other and help each other out to really become what we want to become in this league.”

Oops. So much for the Great QB Battle of 2008. And we thought Grossman and Orton received nearly identical contract extensions last month with identical bonus money for a reason.

The follow-up question was who told Lloyd, who played for Turner at Illinois and met with coaches in Halas Hall before the call on Friday, that Grossman was the man?

``I mean, that’s what I’m assuming. Rex Grossman.

``Orton and Grossman signed one-year deals, I figured maybe Grossman was the starter. Open competition is what I’m being told right now.”

Talk about a mixup at the line of scrimmage. After one more question, Turner got on the phone and worked as fast as he could to straighten out the matter.

``I just listened to part of that and Brandon said that he assumed it was going to be Rex. I just want to clarify that before we got going. You guys know the situation. It’s an open competition. Both guys have been told that. When I talked to Brandon about the quarterback situation, I talked about both guys, about Rex Grossman and Kyle. I feel we’ve got two guys that can get the ball to all of our receivers. So again I just want to start with that and we’ll go from there.”

Conspiracy theorists, you have been armed.

If you can get beyond that, the signing makes sense for the Bears. Lloyd produced next to nothing in Washington where he caught all of 25 passes after getting a $10 million signing bonus in 2006. A poster child for all that is wrong with the Redskins’ free-agent moves, at least in the past, Lloyd will count $5.5 million against Washington’s 2009 salary cap. He had a bumpy beginning there and it never improved. He suffered a broken collarbone in November.

That’s why he’s got everything to play for in coming to the Bears and working with his former coach with a one-year deal that can land him right back in free agency. He’s got top-end speed and is a sharp route runner. He can go up in the air to make plays. At 6-foot, 200 pounds, he never fit into Al Saunders’ offense where smaller receivers like Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El were preferred. He’s a good option to mix with Mark Bradley and Devin Hester as the Bears look to pair someone with Marty Booker, and in that bunch he has a unique skill set.

If attitude and behavior are an issue, the Bears can rid themselves of him quickly.

His former college quarterback took up for him Friday afternoon.

``I think he can help the Bears right away,’’ said Kurt Kittner, also an ex-Bear. ``He is better suited for Turner’s system and obviously he knows it. There’s really no reason for him not to be successful. It’s a great fit for the Bears and for Brandon.’’

Kittner and Lloyd got together at the Rose Bowl in January, but Kittner said he didn’t have any insight as to how Lloyd’s reputation was tarnished in stops in San Francisco and Washington.

``He really hasn’t been in position to shine,’’ Kittner said. ``He’s been with teams where they didn’t use him for his abilities. All I know is he does a great job of going up and getting the ball and that’s something you can’t coach. We can’t say what happened in the past because we weren’t there. Just looking at it with an outsider’s perspective, Washington’s offense was suited to smaller, more scat receivers. I think Brandon fits with the Bears.’’

22 Comments

I've said on past blogs that I didn't think it was as big of a competition as management would like you to believe. I know that what Brandon Lloyd said does by no means prove anything but??? I think, this is just my theory, that Rex Grossman will get the first crack at the job. That is cool the only problem I have with Rex is his durability if he can stay healthy I say make Rex the man if not go with Orton. Either way the Bears should be good at QB. Lets just hope Angelo and the boys can make the right decisions on draft day and get a legit tackle and shore up the running game to help out Grossman or Orton GO BEARS!!

Lucky for the Bears brass that Lloyd is not a bigger name free agent or this would be a huge public relations debacle. Either way it doesn't look good for the franchise. No doubt Kyle will have a few questions regarding this? Beyond the slip up on Lloyd's part, I like the acquisition - decent size, good speed and something to prove.

Its a small risk, if he helps it turns out great, if he doesnt pan out,its a cheap cut. We didnt have a great receiving corp to begin with, so sign some bodies and hope a one works out. Draft a potenial #1 wr with the 2nd pick in the draft, and grap a Derrick Ward/rb and a second tier LG. Hope we hit in the draft and we might end up winning more games than we lose. Give the powers that be some faith. They took us to the Superbowl, without any #1 position players on offense. Give them a chance to right the ship.

The Brandon Lloyd chapter has begun. Worst attribute: Causes problems in the locker-room. Best attribute: Has the intangibles and physical ability to be an awesome receiver. Of course intangibles only go so far, as management says the same about Grossman. Why didn't the Bears pony up money for Michael "The Burner" Turner? That signing could have propelled the Bears to the playoffs. A running back of his caliber would have made all the difference. No Javon Walker, no Alan Faneca, no Turner, no Damien Woody, what's going on Jerry?!!!?

These 2 WR are a great fit to enhance the youth and talent we have plus we go both of them on the cheap. All of the nay sayers need to relax until we start the draft. I think management wil go after the best athlete with the 1st pick and then shore up the O line from there. Of course Rex will get the nod behind closed doors, his contract is only for 1 year we have he neckbeard under contract for 2.Go BEAR!

I think Kyle and Rex being under contract means diddly. Griese had a few years left on his contract and look at what it did to help him. I honestly think that Kyle is just insurance in case Rex doesn't work out. If you put their talents side by side Kyles is skimpy in comparison. We had 3 back up QBs and now we are down to two. Lloyd is going to pout and shoot off his mouth when things don't go his way. I don't even know much about him but WRs always pout whenever they don't get things their way. In this instance he only conveyed what was told to him and this shows that he can't distinguish between keeping it in his hat or telling it like he see it.

You had to know the Bears weren't going after Turner. Who would they cut? Not Benson and admit the huge mistake. Lovie said he would always have a spot for Peterson, and Jerry isn't going to cut Wolfe after using a third round pick on him just last year. They weren't going to keep 4 RB. Some mock drafts have them taking Mendenhall in the 1st round. I say no chance for the same reasons I pointed to. Could they trade one of them? Possibly, but what would they get for any of them? Maybe, Mr. Irrelevant.

I don't understand what is so hard for the coaches to understand that Orton is the better of the two Q's. Sure he doesn't have the distance Grossman does, but at least Orton knows what color jersey's to throw to. The man has far fewer interceptions than Sexy Rexy. This is where I agree with big business: loyalty is a fools errand, and loyalty to Grossman must end by the coaches, for as long as he continues to start, we will continue to suffer. By the way, it wasn't Grossman that led us to the Bowl, it was our running game and our killer defense who last year went down the drain because they couldn't catch their breath from all the turnovers caused by our O. Orton needs to become the starter, bottom line.

WOW!!! what did orton show us when he played? oh yeah that the defense&special teams could win it for him again and make him look good!!! orton is a great backup qb thats it. he didnt throw the ball all that well, and when he did, they were the little dump off passes for a couple yards!!! i've been saying it for 2 yrs now rex needs some offensive linemen who can protect him. i wouldve gotten rid of tait along side of miller. i think he's to slow&old for left tackle. we need young players in at ot who can keep up with the speed rushers!!! we also need a runningback like walter payton, not only could he run like crazy but i also think hes was the best at blocking. for all of you who think orton is our man your nuts. gonna be a long and dreadful season (again) if orton starts!!!

Actually I think Lloyd knows all about the Bears QB situatioN. He and Turner both stated they have kept in touch. Also he said he spoke to Lovie and Turner and talked to them about the bears offense. He is a WR one of the things he would probably ask about when being intervied is the QB situation as it directly effects him, he also would probably ask how the Bears would like to use him, and what he needs to do. He also said that both Turner and Lovie said Rex was the guy and that they had a lot of faith in him. The next thing out of his mouth was Lloyd correcting himself and giving the the reproters the company line of "I mean it should be a great compitition" Well by saying that he identifies that he new of the compition, he names Orton and Rex, so he knows Ortons name, and he knew enough to stop and correct himself using the company line. Someone had to tell him what to say if asked that question. He knew the Company line, he knew about the compitition, he knew both QB names and he knew he had said the wrong thing right after he said it. I think Mr Lloyd know quite a bit about the QB situation if you ask me.

Why sign Lloyd? he's a bum. RESIGN RASHIED DAVIS IDIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! HE'S SO UNDERRATED AND UNTAPPED IT'S DIGUSTING. BERRIAN IS GONE,BRADLEY IS GREAT WHEN HE'S NOT HURT, MUHHAMED IS GONE, BOOKER IS GOOD, BUT, WHO KNOW'S WHAT'S LEFT IN HIM. DAVIS AND HESTER WOULD BE A GREAT TANDEM.